Headband

ABSTRACT

A headband with a connecting strap extending between opposite ends of the body of the headband. The width of the connecting strap is narrow, and the length of the connecting strap is short relative to the width and length of the body of the headband. The strap extends beneath the wearer&#39;s hair between the wearer&#39;s ears and is preferably formed of a soft fabric material. The strap thereby comfortably secures the headband in position without the wearer&#39;s hair bunching over it.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/212,183, filed Jun. 18, 2021, the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improvement in headbands and moreparticularly, to a headband having a relatively narrow fabric strap thatextends across the back of the wearer's neck, under their hair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Headbands are commonly worn around the head as a decorative fashionaccessory or for utilitarian purposes such as to keep the wearer's hairor perspiration out of the eyes. Headbands come in assorted shapes andsizes. Generally, a headband consists of a strip of cloth or curvedplastic worn in the hair that fits closely over the top of the head andbehind the ears and under the hair across the top of the back of thewearer's neck. Headbands can take the form of a loop of elastic materialor a horseshoe shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal that fitsclosely over the top of the head and behind the ears. Other headbandsmay take the form of a bandana type cloth extending beneath the hairthat ties at the top of the wearer's head. These traditional headbandscan be bulky, uncomfortable and slip or easily dislodge from the desiredposition on the wearer's head.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the headband of the present invention includes aconnecting strap or strip extending between opposite ends of the body ofthe headband. The connecting strap is narrow relative to the body of theheadband and is preferably formed of a soft fabric material. Theconnecting strap comfortably secures the headband in position withoutthe bulk of other headbands and can be concealed by the wearer's hair.

In one aspect, the headband of the present invention provides acombination of a headband body and a connecting strap for securing theheadband in a desired position on the wearer's head.

In another aspect, the headband of the present invention provides aheadband which does not dislodge from its preferred position on thewearer's head. In a further aspect, the headband of the presentinvention prevents hair or perspiration from getting into the wearer'seyes. In yet another aspect, the headband of the present inventionextends beneath the wearer's hair without unnecessary bulk and createsan aesthetically pleasing appearance. In yet another aspect, theheadband of the present invention comfortably maintains its position onthe wearer's head.

Other advantages of this invention will become apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswith reference to various exemplary embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustrative image of a first embodiment of the headband inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the headband of FIG. 1 worn on a wearer'shead;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the headband of FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 4 is a rear view showing the headband of FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative image of a second embodiment of the headbandin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the headband of FIG. 5 worn on a wearer'shead; and

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the headband of FIG. 6 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of select embodiments of the invention are describedwith specificity herein to meet statutory requirements. But thedescription itself is not intended to necessarily limit the scope ofembodiments thereof. Rather, the subject matter might be embodied inother ways to include different components, steps, or combinationsthereof similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunctionwith other present or future technologies. Terms should not beinterpreted as implying any particular order among or between varioussteps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individualsteps is explicitly described. The terms “about” or “approximately” asused herein denote deviations from the exact value in the form ofchanges or deviations that are insignificant to the function.

Looking to FIG. 1 , in an exemplary embodiment the headband 100 has anelongated body 110 extending between first and second ends, with arelatively narrow (as compared to the width of the headband body)connecting strap 120 attached between the first and second ends of thebody, thus presenting a continuous ring, loop or circular configuration.

Turning to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 , the headband 100 is depicted as worn onthe wearer's head 102, extending beneath the wearer's hair 104 andbehind the wearer's ears 106, to hold the hair 104 back away from thewearer's face 108.

The body 110 of the headband 100 is an elongated, substantiallyrectangular strip preferably formed of cloth fabric having a width ofapproximately 3½ inches, a length of approximately 16 inches, a firstend 134 and a second, opposite end 136. The body 110 may be sizeddifferently to accommodate larger or smaller head sizes. The fabric ispreferably a soft, flexible, cotton fabric or cotton blend, such as 100%cotton, or an 80%/20% polyester cotton blend. Preferably, the body 110includes two layers of the fabric, assembled by folding the fabriclengthwise and stitching it together inside-out with a ¼ inch seam fromthe fabric edge on the long, unfolded side. The first and second ends134 and 136 are initially left open and not stitched closed. Thefinished size of the headband after folding and seaming is preferablyapproximately 1.5 inches wide, with a nominal length of 16 inches, sizedto fit most adults. In alternative embodiments, the length of theheadband can be varied to provide other sizes, such as shorter lengthsfor children or longer lengths for larger adults.

Connecting strap 120 is preferably formed from a single layer of a soft,cotton fabric of the type typically used for t-shirts. This fabricselection enhances the fit and comfort of the headband while stillproviding adequate structure. The strap 120 is substantially rectangularwith a width of approximately no more than 1 inch and a length ofapproximately 6½ inches, with a first end 154 and a second opposite end156. Thus, the length of the strap 120 is less than the length of thebody 110, and similarly, the width of the strap 120 is less than thewidth of the body 110, i.e., the strap 120 is shorter and narrower thanthe body 110. As can be seen in FIG. 1 , while the nominal width of theconnecting strap is approximately 1 inch, in use the center portion ofthe connecting strap may curl or fold such that the apparent width isless.

The strap ends 154 and 156 are secured to the first and second body ends134 and 136 preferably by stitching. More specifically, in assembly eachstrap end 154 and 156 is inserted between the layers of the body 110 atthe open ends 134 and 136 thereof and then the body ends 134 and 136 arestitched closed while also securing the strap ends 154 and 156 theretoto form a continuous loop or ring. In alternative embodiments, any meansof securing the ends together may be used, such as adhesive, staples,Velcro®. The strap size may be adjusted to conform to different headsizes for optimum fit and comfort.

This combination of fabrics offers excellent quality of wear, ease ofcare such as machine-washing, comfort, stretch, durability andabsorption. In other exemplary embodiments, other materials, such asflexible plastic, may be used.

Looking to FIGS. 3 and 4 in conjunction, the strap's length and widthallow the strap 120 to extend under the wearer's hair without beingvisible and providing comfort and good fit without the wearer's hairbunching up over the strap 120. More particularly, as seen in FIGS. 2,3, and 4 in use the headband 100 is worn with the strap 120 under thewearer's hair 104 at the back of the neck with the strap ends 154 and156 terminating at the wearer's ears 106, so the strap 120 of theheadband 100 is not visible by observers.

Turning to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 , a second embodiment of the headband isdepicted generally by the numeral 200. Headband 200 is very similar toheadband 100 but includes a body 210 formed of two fabric segments orstrips 224 and 226. Preferably, each segment 224, 226 is shapedidentically to the other, although in alternative embodiments segments224 and 226 can be shaped differently. Preferably, each segment 224 and226 is substantially rectangular with the same width and length, a firstend 234 and second, opposite end 236.

As assembled and best seen in FIG. 5 , headband 200 presents one unitaryelongated strip, including the first and second segments 224 and 226 ofthe body 210 secured together by connecting strap 220. The ends 254 and256 of the strap 220 are secured to the second ends 236 of each of thesegments 224 and 226. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the first ends234 of the segments 224 and 226 are free to be tied together. Thesefirst ends 234 can be rounded or curved to facilitate tying themtogether and to create a more favorable aesthetic effect. This tiefeature allows for additional adjustability of fit by the wearer.Additional features of headband 200 are similar to headband 100 asdescribed above, such as the preferred sizing and material.

Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as wellas components not shown, are possible without departing from the scopeof the description provided herein. Embodiments of the technology havebeen described with the intent to be illustrative rather thanrestrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers ofthis disclosure after and because of reading it.

Alternative means of implementing the aforementioned can be completedwithout departing from the scope of embodiments of the invention.Identification of structures as being configured to perform a particularfunction in this disclosure is intended to be inclusive of structuresand arrangements or designs thereof that are within the scope of thisdisclosure and readily identifiable by one of skill in the art and thatcan perform the particular function in a similar way. Certain featuresand sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed withoutreference to other features and sub-combinations and are contemplatedwithin the scope of embodiments of the invention described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A headband, comprising: an elongated main bodyextending between first and second ends; and a connecting strapextending between and attached to the first and second ends such thatthe main body and connecting strap form a continuous loop.
 2. Theheadband of claim 1, wherein the main body has a length of approximately16 inches and a finished width of approximately 1.5 inches and whereinthe connecting strap has a length of approximately 6.5 inches and anominal width of approximately 1 inch.
 3. The headband of claim 1,wherein a width of the connecting strap is less than approximatelytwo-thirds of a width of the main body.
 4. The headband of claim 1,wherein the main body comprises two layers of materials attached alonglengthwise edges to form openings at the first and second ends to allowinsertion of the connecting strap.
 5. The headband of claim 4, whereineach end of the connecting strap is inserted into a corresponding openend of the main body and secured therein.
 6. The headband of claim 1,wherein the connecting strap comprises a single layer of material. 7.The headband of claim 1, wherein the main body and connecting strap areformed of soft fabric.
 8. A headband, comprising: an elongated main bodycomprising first and second segments, wherein each segment extendsbetween first and second ends; and a connecting strap attached to thesecond end of the first segment and to the first end of the secondsegment such that the first and second segments of the main body can betied together to secure the headband to the head of a wearer.
 9. Theheadband of claim 8, wherein first and second segments of the main bodyhave a finished width of approximately 1.5 inches and wherein theconnecting strap has a nominal width of approximately 1 inch.
 10. Theheadband of claim 8, wherein a width of the connecting strap is lessthan approximately two-thirds of a width of the main body.
 11. Theheadband of claim 8, wherein the first and second segments are similarlyshaped.
 12. The headband of claim 1, wherein opposite ends of theconnecting strap are inserted into a corresponding open end of the firstand second segments of the main body and secured therein.
 13. Theheadband of claim 1, wherein the connecting strap comprises a singlelayer of material.
 14. The headband of claim 1, wherein the main bodyand connecting straps are formed of soft fabric.